This training material is from our virtual conferences. We will be adapting it for the Host Your Own Webinar program, but please be patient with us! :)
Your event is being held in the Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate) virtual teaching and learning platform. Presenters are responsible for being familiar enough with Collaborate to present, and below is a calendar of live trainings for presenters and volunteer moderators for the conference. The training sessions are held (of course) in Blackboard Collaborate to help you prepare and ask any questions you might have. You only need to attend one session, or if the timing doesn't work for you then you may watch the recording listed below, but first-time users of Collabate are HIGHLY encouraged to attend one of the live sessions.
To check that your computer is ready for Blackboard Collaborate, please use THIS LINK. "Step 1" will indicate if you have a version of Java that is compatible, and then "Step 2" lets you actually go into a test session. Please do this in advance of the training, and email steve@hargadon.com if you have any trouble.
A headset/microphone combination works best for your voice participation, although you can use a stand-alone microphone to speak and earbuds for listening. If you need to listen through your computer speakers, just be aware that there can be a slight echoing problem if you don't turn off your microphone when you're not speaking. If you want to use a webcam to broadcast yourself live during your presentation, we can help make sure that is working in the training or you can test at the site above.
Collaborate has a number of great features, and short introductory video to the technology can be seen HERE. We also recommend that you sign up at the WeCollaborate user community for support and advice. You can also get a free, 30-day, 25-seat trial of Collaborate HERE (at the end of the trial, you'll automatically be transitioned to a 3-person vRoom).
There is, additionally, web / print training material HERE (click on the "For Moderators" link to see moderator-specific material).
IMPORTANT FOR MAC USERS
If you are using a Mac running Mountain Lion v10.8.4, Blackboard has released a special app called the "Collaborate Launcher for Mac" which is now required for Mountain Lion v10.8.4 and later. More information HERE.
TRAINING CALENDAR
The live training sessions are listed in the embedded calendar below with US-Eastern times. You can convert times into any global time zone at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html.
All the training sessions are held in a Collaborate room you access by clicking HERE (http://www.we20.net or https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=M.02D8DF92BE269DD48FF59ACE313555). This room is set up to mirror the setting of your actual session room for the conference, and you are welcome to log into the room at any time, even when there are not training sessions, to practice.
The training is the same for each live training session and below is a recorded version of a previous training (the training is the same independent of a particular conference). The embedded training video in the next section is the best one to watch if you cannot make a live session. There are also open help sessions where you can come to ask questions--these do not replace the training, but for additional questions or practice.
TRAINING RECORDING:
The video (1 hour) should be watched if you cannot attend a live training, or for a refresher.
